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Class _y/ / 7 3 

Book 'Be 



Copyright^ 

COPYRIGHT DEPOSIT. 



BOYS of the STREET 
HOW TO WIN THEM 



12 MO. CLOTH 75c. NET 

THE WORKINGMAN 
AND SOCIAL PROBLEMS 

By CHARLES STELZLE 

It wins the reader's confidence by its grasp of 
actual conditions, and corrects many misconceptions. 
— Congregationalism 

This work is the outcome of: first, several years 
as a workingman ; second, a series of circular letters 
to labor leaders ; third, practical work among work- 
ingmen, settlement and city mission work. — Chicago 
Record- Herald. 

Clergymen, settlement workers, church members, 
laboring men, in fact every one who is interested in 
the workingman and social problems will enjoy 
reading this book. — New York Observer. 

Mr. Stelzle was a real workingman and knows 
the feeling and aspirations of the wage-workers. 
He is fair, honest, and a keen observer. — The 
Standard. 

Mr. Stelzle has an intelligent appreciation and 
sympathy for these work-people of all grades. 
" The common people, the toilers, the men of un- 
common sense, — to these we owe a debt of grati- 
tude." And those who wish really to help these 
multitudes of men and women "of uncommon 
sense" will find herein many admirable sugges- 
tions. — The Examiner. 



BOYS of the STREET 
How to Win Them 



By 

CHARLES STELZLE 

Author of 
The Workingman and Social Problems 




New York Chicago Toronto 

Fleming H. Reveli Company 

London and Edinburgh 



Copyright, 1904, by 
FLEMING H. REVELL COMPANY 



LIBRARY of CONGRESS 
Two Copies Received 

MAY 5 1904 

I Copyright Entry 

A©*fc«T-Mf + 
CLASf ft XXo. No. 

%l* I 1/ 
COPY B 



New York: 158 Fifth" Avenue 
Chicago \ : 6} Washington Street 
Torontq:v27 Richmond Street, W 
London: 21 Paternoster Square 
Edinburgh: 30 St. Mary Street 



" // is by the Boys' Club that the street is 
hardest hit. In the fight for the lad it is that 
which knocks out the ' gang I and with its 
own weapon — the weapon of organization!' 

— Jacob A. Rus. 



PREFACE 

I was number " 8 " in the now famous St. 
Mark's Boys' Club of New York City— the 
first boys' club started in America. That 
was over twenty years ago. Since then I 
have conducted a number of clubs of my 
own. My first attempt was with a mass 
club which had a membership of over five 
hundred, and which was composed princi- 
pally of newsboys and bootblacks. This was 
followed, in another city, by a group club 
which was limited to eight members. Dur- 
ing the past five years my interest in boys' 
work has been centred in self-government 
clubs. 

The material in this book is the result of 
this varied experience. Abstract theories 
have been avoided. Nothing is suggested 
but what has been actually tested and found 
helpful, either by myself or by some other 
practical worker. 

The book is founded upon a series of 
7 



8 Preface 

articles written by the author for the Sunday- 
School Times and an article printed more 
recently in the Outlook. I gratefully ac- 
knowledge the permission given by the 
editors of these papers to use the matter 
which has been incorporated into this book. 

Charles Stelzle. 

Evanston, III. 



CONTENTS 

CHAP. PAGE 

J. Why Boys' Work is Needed - - 1 1 

II. The Object of the Work - 20 

III. Various Kinds of Clubs - - - 25 

IV. Some Things That a Club May Do - 37 

V. A Boys' Club Constitution - -46 

VI. The Headquarters of the Club - 53 

VII. Religion in the Club - - - 59 

VIII. The Clubs' " Esprit de Corps " - 74 

IX. Club Managers - - - - 80 

X. Some General Observations - - 88 



WHY BOYS' WORK IS NEEDED 

11 I'm always a-movin' on, sir. I've always 
been a-movin' on, sir, ever since I was born. 
Where can I move to, sir, more nor I do 
move?" 

That half-defiant, half-pitiful cry of poor 
Joe, the street waif, in Dickens's " Bleak 
House," in response to the policeman's com- 
mand to "move on," is a cry which is not 
confined to London nor to Dickens's time. 
It is heard in many American cities. Every 
member of a boys' club which was composed 
of the fellows in one of my Bible classes, had, 
with one exception, spent at least one night 
in the police station before joining the club, 
guilty of no greater crime than that he had 
no more convenient place to meet his friends 
than upon the street corner or in front of his 
own home. 

Whether the police station is a better place 
for our boys than the street corner is a ques- 
tion which our municipal authorities have 
ii 



1 2 Boys of the Street 

apparently decided for us, but whether we 
agree with them or not, it is likely that we 
will unanimously decide— and I think that 
the policeman will agree with us — that there 
should be better places for city boys than the 
police station. 

One night a city paper announced that a 
boy had committed suicide in a drunken 
spree. He was about eighteen years of age 
and unknown, and it was said that if any 
mother had such a boy as was described she 
might find her boy at the morgue. Two 
hundred mothers went to look at that face. 
Was not that an awful commentary ? 

A visit to any one of our penitentiaries 
will reveal the fact that the great majority of 
its inmates are young men. As one goes 
through the corridors and work-shops of the 
great institution, and thinks of the lost op- 
portunities represented in the wrecked man- 
hood of the prisoners, it seems as though the 
sad words "it might have been," are written 
upon the forehead of every criminal. 

But the time when " it might have been" 
was back in the boyhood days of the man 
who is now hardened in crime. If he had 
had a friend to advise and help when he was 
beset by the temptations of city life, he might 



Why Boys' Work is Needed 13 

now be found occupying a position of honour 
instead of wearing the prisoner's stripes. 

The home no longer influences the average 
boy as it did in the days when society had 
fewer claims upon us, and the problem of 
what is to become of the boys without 
parental oversight and training is serious 
enough in the refined home. But what can 
we say for the boy who has no place that is 
a real home, but simply a lodge where he 
spends the night ? 

There are thousands of boys in our cities 
whose homes consist of only one or two 
small rooms in a tenement house, sometimes 
back of a dark, dingy alley. These condi- 
tions in our crowded tenements have more 
to do with crime and immorality than will 
ever be known this side of the judgment 
day. Eighteen persons living in three rooms, 
twelve of them being adults, are not calcu- 
lated to stimulate high ideals in the mind of 
the average boy. 

The boy in such a home rarely has the 
sympathy of his father. At any rate, his 
father is not always the help that he should 
be. If the boy should happen to lose his 
"job," sometimes through no fault of his 
own, and be unable to secure another, the 



14 Boys of the Street 

epithet "loafer" will frequently drive him 
out of his home, and, if he was not a loafer 
before he lost his job, he is in a fair way to 
become one now. Few of us are aware of 
the large number of young men who board 
outside of their own homes, even when their 
parents live in the same city. 

The boy in the city usually starts to work 
at fourteen. If he is large and strong for his 
age, he goes to the factory just as soon as he can 
pass for that age. His evenings are now open 
to him, since he has no school lessons to pre- 
pare. He has more money to spend than he 
ever had before. His circle of acquaintances 
is enlarged, and, ordinarily, it includes some 
young fellow who has seen something of the 
shady side of city life. Going about town 
with him, and seeing its gay life, he begins 
to compare it with his own monotonous ex- 
istence, and it is a question of only a short 
time, usually, when the slender tie that binds 
him to his humble home is broken, and he 
falls into the clutches of the manager of the 
cheap theatre, the saloon keeper, and the 
keeper of the down-town dive. 

And then, too, the candy store and the 
tobacco shop will welcome him, especially 
if he wants to organize a club. I sometimes 



Why Boys' Work is Needed 15 

marvel at the apparent coldness of some of 
our churches in disapproving of an organiza- 
tion of some kind for their boys, as though 
they were aliens of a dangerous type, who 
needed to be supiciously watched, until the 
average boy comes to believe that he is an 
Ishmael, against whom every man's hand is 
turned. 

In most of our cities, our boys are attracted 
by the small halls which may be found in the 
poorer parts of the town, where they adver- 
tise " Dancing to-night at eight clock/' or a 
1 ■ Soiree on Sunday night ; Gentlemen twenty- 
five cents; Ladies free." Or else they are 
tempted to join a social club which meets 
back of a saloon because there is no rent to 
pay, on the condition that the members of the 
club will treat. The chief function of the 
social club is to " run " a ball, and attend the 
balls conducted by other social clubs, each 
striving to outdo the rest in the gorgeousness 
of the badges worn by the floor-manager and 
his assistants, or in the prizes offered to the 
best dancer, or the most elegantly dressed 
couple, the badges and prizes being displayed 
for several weeks previous to the ball, in a 
favoured store window. 

Most of these social clubs are a positive 



16 Boys of the Street 

curse to the boy who has become associated 
with their members. The rooms are open 
every night, and the new boys learn more of 
sin in a single evening, by sitting about the 
table and listening to the coarse and immoral 
stories which are being told, than he will 
forget in a lifetime. There is absolutely no 
effort made to improve the mind. The 
young men simply gather at their headquar- 
ters to spend the time in idle talk, coarse 
singing, card-playing, and "canning" beer. 
Of all the institutions in our large cities 
which are sending the boys down to destruc- 
tion, this is not the least. 

A young member, in telling about what 
was done at one of these clubs, said: " They 
have kissing all through pleasure time, and 
use slang language, and they don't behave 
nice between young ladies." 

It is unfortunate that the poor boy, even 
when he would do right, must go to some 
cheap " variety show " if he would spend an 
evening of relaxation after a hard day's 
work in the shop, because, in most instances, 
there is no other place to which he could go 
where he would secure that diversion which 
he needs. If he has a love for music, he 
cannot indulge that most elevating taste, 



Why Boys' Work is Needed 17 

unless he can afford to spend as much for the 
concert as he has earned in a whole day. 
The only alternative is to resort to the vaude- 
ville, where he may hear fairly good music, 
but where he must take with it so much 
of evil that the good is usually more than 
over-balanced. Where else could he go in 
the average city if he would see the " mov- 
ing pictures " which have become so popular ? 

It may be well enough to make the state- 
ment that any boy with push and ambition 
will find useful employment during the 
evening, but we must remember that not all 
boys have this push, and that the great ma- 
jority are only ordinary boys, and will 
be only ordinary men. But if they are to be 
only ordinary men, we ought to help them 
so that they may at least become good men. 

It is difficult to make a boy realize his un- 
conscious needs, when he is constantly 
reminded of his conscious wants. But 
when you open one door to enjoyment and 
healthy pleasure, you have closed a dozen 
avenues to sin and shame. 

Jacob Riis once said: "It is by the boys' 
club that the street is hardest hit. In the 
fight for the lad, it is that which knocks out 
the 'gang,' and with its own weapon— the 



1 8 Boys of the Street 

weapon of organization." Boys are naturally 
fond of organization and discipline. This 
has been demonstrated in the work of 
the Boys' Brigade. The late Henry Drum- 
mond applied this truth to the movement in 
his own country. " Amazing and preposter- 
ous illusion!" he declared. "Call these 
boys, boys, which they are, and ask them to 
sit up in a Sunday class, and no power on 
earth will make them do it. Put a five- 
penny cap on them and call them soldiers, 
which they are not, and you can order them 
about until midnight." 

It is quite a common thing to establish res- 
cue missions for the street boy when he 
has become a man, when it might have been 
a comparatively easy task to save his life as 
well as his soul twenty years before. And if 
he cannot tell the harrowing story of a ruined 
life, it will not take away the power of his 
testimony, neither will it mar his influence as 
a citizen, nor make him less of a father or a 
worker in his life's occupation. 

Boys' work is cheap, even though it cost 
ten times as much as is required to conduct 
the average rescue mission, but it is safe to 
say that not one-tenth as much money is 
spent for that class of boys outside the Sun- 



Why Boys' Work is Needed 19 

day-school and similar organizations which 
are not reaching the street boy, as is put 
into rescue mission work, which aims to 
reach him when it is almost too late. The 
work is infinitely cheaper, on the theory 
that prevention is better than cure, even 
though it may not show up so well in an 
annual report. 



II 

THE OBJECT OF THE WORK 

There is perhaps no form of social work 
which may be more easily inaugurated than 
a boys' club, but experience has taught us that 
it is not always the least difficult to main- 
tain. 

Any one can open a reading-room, and 
allow the boys to flock in. But this does not 
mean a boys' club; it usually means a 
rabble, and ends in a row. The almost 
inevitable result will be that your club-room 
will become the plotting-place for a gang of 
boys who will soon become a nuisance in the 
neighbourhood, and your unfeeling fellow- 
citizens will present you with a petition ask- 
ing that your philanthropic enterprise be 
discontinued. 

A boys' club will surely fail in doing its 
best work unless there is a definite plan in 
the mind of the manager with regard to the 
whole enterprise, and a definite purpose in 
every entertainment or meeting held. Be- 
20 



The Object of the Work 2 1 

fore inviting a boy to meet you for the pur- 
pose of organizing a club, it should be very 
clearly settled in your own mind as to what 
shall be the foundation and purpose of the 
club. The matter of determining as to just 
how this purpose shall be carried out is 
quite another thing. One cannot settle that 
in the beginning. The club worker will 
never cease thinking about and planning for 
it. Sometimes one will get help from the 
boys themselves in determining one's plans. 
However, the boys will indicate their need — 
which is, of course, the factor in planning 
for the object of the club— quite uncon- 
sciously. 

It is a mistake to confine oneself to purely 
negative work. Keeping the boys off the 
streets may be a good thing. Putting some- 
thing into their hearts and minds which will 
be helpful is far better. 

The most prominent feature in many boys' 
clubs is the social element. In fact, some 
managers have attempted to carry on their 
work upon this basis alone, and they have 
found, invariably, that the boys could not be 
held permanently unless something besides 
games and socials were provided. It is true 
that in some crowded neighbourhoods an 



22 Boys of the Street 

interest has been maintained in this way, so 
that the membership has seemed to grow to 
almost incredible proportions; but it would 
be found, upon investigation, that the great 
majority had simply " passed through " the 
club, making room for the hundreds, and 
sometimes the thousands, who followed. 

Some club managers go to the other 
extreme: they strive to build up a great 
educational institution, rivalling the evening 
and the technical schools in curriculum and 
general management. This is also a mis- 
take. While it is an excellent plan to es- 
tablish an educational institution for boys, 
the manager of the boys' club who attempts 
it is departing from the original design of 
boys' club work, and is entering a field 
which is clearly out of his province. The 
boys' club is not an evening school, and the 
time and energy of the manager might better 
be directed into other channels, because he 
will find that the work which is already 
being done in the evening school is far 
superior to that which he can possibly do. 

Work in a boys' club should be largely 
inspirational. It should have for its supreme 
purpose the building up of character. And 
the simpler the machinery, the more effective 



The Object of the Work 23 

will be the work. Not that classes may not 
be maintained with profit. But the real 
benefit from the classes will result from the 
personality of the leader or teacher, rather 
than from the technical knowledge which 
may be obtained from a particular study. 

The class work will be a point of contact. 
The common interest in a certain subject or 
industry will give the leader an opportunity 
to direct the boy to better and higher things. 
When the boy is ready for a regular course 
in the evening school, the club will have 
largely accomplished its purpose for that 
particular boy, for he will have little use for 
the club after that. 

The earnest workers who are so fearful 
lest their efforts in behalf of the boys will be 
worse than useless unless they can get the 
boys to apply themselves to some specific 
study, should not forget that education and 
discipline and character may be acquired in 
the gymnasium or in the game, as well as in 
the class-room. Fair play and cooperation, 
which are demanded in these things, will 
work wonders in the average boy's char- 
acter. It is because the boy is indifferent to 
these things that he needs to be helped — not 
thrown overboard to perish because he is not 



24 Boys of the Street 

pleased to apply his mind consecutively, — 
about which, by the way, some of us who 
are older are not particularly anxious. 

Whatever is suggestive of a sweeter and a 
stronger home life should be here introduced, 
because it must not be forgotten that, after 
all, one of the chief purposes of the club is 
to develop that love for home which for 
many reasons may have been eradicated. If 
this can be accomplished, the boys' club will 
have fulfilled a great mission. 



Ill 

VARIOUS KINDS OF CLUBS 

In a general way one may say that there are 
three kinds of clubs — the group club, the 
mass club, and the self-government club. 
Then there is what has been called the com- 
bination club, which includes two or more 
features which are found in the clubs just 
mentioned. 

The first boys' clubs to be organized were 
mass clubs. They were organized, primarily, 
for the purpose of keeping boys off the 
streets, and were necessarily somewhat 
crude in some things. With the growth of 
the boys' club idea there has been a radical 
change in the plan of organization. Instead 
of there being a great company of boys, 
meeting nightly for the purpose of reading 
and playing games, with an occasional en- 
tertainment, leaders have started the group 
club, which is usually confined to from six 
to ten boys. These boys are generally made 
up of the same "gang," therefore of the 
same age and the same neighbourhood. 
2 5 



26 Boys of the Street 

The group club will usually meet only once 
a week, and is under the immediate direc- 
tion of a leader who is responsible for the 
work of the club. 

Unquestionably, there are decided advan- 
tages in limiting the size of the club, so that 
there will be that personal touch with the 
leader which cannot always be secured in a 
club which numbers several hundred. One 
of the very best clubs ever organized is com- 
posed of a Sunday-school teacher and her 
class of boys. The teacher will find no bet- 
ter way to hold her boys if she can meet her 
scholars in this way during the week. It is 
important in a group club to get together 
boys who are congenial. In form, the club 
is very simple, but its very simplicity gives 
such a club a wide range of possibility. A 
group club has about it a great deal of elas- 
ticity. The plans may be more easily changed 
than is often possible in a larger club. Usu- 
ally, the group club has a common interest 
in some subject, the subject being deter- 
mined almost altogether by the ability or the 
talents of the leader. What this interest may 
be does not really matter, so long as it may 
be made helpful, and prove to be a point of 
contact. Some of the things suggested in 



Various Kinds of Clubs 27 

the chapter on "What a Boys' Club May 
Do," will be helpful in deciding as to what a 
group club may make its specialty. 

Since the group club has so little machin- 
ery, it depends very much upon the leader for 
its success; much more so than does the mass 
club. The leader of such a group must know 
intimately every boy. His must be a strong, 
sympathetic nature. A club of this kind offers 
a great moral opportunity to such a person. 

Mr. Alvan F. Sanborn, in the South End 
House Bulletin, tells of his experience with a 
group club. He writes: "I gave myself 
conscientiously to amusing a group of boys 
with table games for several months before 
I discovered them to be worthy of much bet- 
ter things. Then the discovery came by the 
merest accident. The boys were twelve and 
thirteen years of age. There were seven of 
them, and they came to my room once a 
week. Their ignorance of the commonest 
facts of country life (1 have heard a squirrel 
called a young monkey) led me one night to 
show them a dusty natural history collection 
1 had made when a very small boy. In- 
stantly it was to them as if they were in a 
fairy palace. The specimens, — mainly in- 
sects and birds' eggs — were battered, worm- 



28 Boys of the Street 

eaten, and discoloured; but my boys' eyes 
were full of wonder, and reverence was in the 
touch of their hands. They were stirred with 
a new enthusiasm that boded much good. 
I saw that I should have to rack my brains 
no more for amusements; that our meetings 
were at last to answer a real purpose. 

"The collection alone, petty as it was, 
held the attention of the boys for several 
nights. Then, as it was winter, I tried to 
tide the precious interest over to spring by 
planting seeds in sawdust and sand, and get- 
ting them to do the same. Early in March I 
was able to show tree buds and catkins as 
trophies of walks in the country, and a little 
later, live frogs, turtles and snakes. As soon 
as bird-nesting time arrived, it was easy to 
make a striking display every week. On 
occasional Saturdays I took the boys into the 
country and there they became infected with 
the egg-collecting fever. 

" I love Thoreau and I love Burroughs and 
all the rest of the outdoor fraternity. I 
longed to share my pleasure in them with 
the boys, but lacked the moral courage to 
make so risky an experiment. Finally, I re- 
membered the charming bird biographies of 
Olive Thorn Miller, and ventured on them. 



Various Kinds of Clubs 29 

It was a happy venture. This so far em- 
boldened me that I read them, in quick suc- 
cession, parts of Bradford Torrey, Bolles, 
Abbot, Burroughs, and even Thoreau. Of 
these, Burroughs, I think, was the favourite. 
That the finer shades of thought or the 
strictly literary qualities of these writings 
were apparent to the boys, I do not for a 
moment affirm. Of course I had to choose 
chapters wisely, and avoid altogether or sim- 
plify ideas which were taken in and the fresh 
out-of-door flavour was appreciated. 

"This past summer, the study and collect- 
ing have gone on very much as in the year 
before, except that the nature-love is now 
'inside the skin/ This it is that makes me 
glad. The boys no longer wait for me to 
take the initiative. They take electric-car 
rides into the country by themselves, when 
they can raise dimes. When there are no 
dimes they walk out through dismal city 
streets to such country as is to be found at 
the end of two or three miles — tame enough, 
as most of us know. 

" Those of us who have faith that no good 
influence, however weak, is vain, as well as 
those of us who are Wordsworthians enough 
to believe in the special ethical value of a love 



30 Boys of the Street 

of nature, will feel it is really no small thing 
for the child of a crowded city neighbour- 
hood to grow to manhood with such a love 
within his soul. 'Nature never did betray 
the heart that loved her/ In these hours of 
rollicking country research are life and food 
for future years." 

While much may be said in favour of the 
group club, there are some advantages in the 
larger or mass club which are ordinarily lost 
to the smaller club. Chief among them is 
the fact that the club is reaching a greater 
number of boys. It is quite likely that at 
least six boys out of the larger club will re- 
ceive as much benefit as the six boys who 
would compose a club of that number, al- 
though the benefit may be of a different kind, 
besides helping the larger number who would 
otherwise have been left out. 

A large club tends to break down some of 
the barriers of creed, race and colour. It is, as 
a rule, more democratic than the smaller club. 
The club spirit is stronger, and the enthusiasm 
more lasting among average boys, and these 
are the kind that you will deal with. Your 
model boy rarely needs the boys' club. 

Contact with a large number of bright, 
wide-awake boys is bound to stimulate a 



Various Kinds of Clubs 31 

duller boy. The large club is richer in tra- 
ditions. There are the achievements of the 
baseball nine or the football team, the glee- 
club or the orchestra, the memories of the 
picnics and the summer camp. Then there 
are the lessons of brotherhood and coopera- 
tion, which can be taught more effectively in 
the larger club. 

The mass club is economical. The same 
argument would hold good for a large club 
that holds for a large church or business. As 
a rule, its affairs are administered better be- 
cause it is directed by a committee or board 
which contains men of large experience and 
sympathy. The club, however, must have a 
head with undivided responsibility. This 
kind of a club will reach the neediest boys, 
because they will be more likely to go where 
there is a crowd, than to a place where they 
might be more closely scrutinized as to the 
clothes that they can afford to wear. As a 
rule, the expense of belonging to a group club 
is larger than that of a mass club, because 
there are usually some boys in the group club 
who will insist on excursions or some other 
features which may cost more than the poor 
boy can afford. This, of course, may be pre- 
vented with a wise leader. 



32 Boys of the Street 

Any boy should be eligible to membership 
in a mass club, and he should be retained 
until he very clearly proves himself unfit for 
the association of other boys. Even then he 
should have the personal care of the manager, 
because just then he will need it most. It is 
customary to have the rooms open every 
night for the mass club. There should be a 
number of assistants who may be depended 
upon, each having his work mapped out, as 
indicated in another chapter. It will cost 
more to conduct a mass club, but it will be 
easier to raise money for it than for the 
smaller club. Indeed, there are few things 
that appeal to the average citizen more readily 
than boys' club work. The people who con- 
tribute largely to mission and church work 
are confined to a comparatively small circle. 
There is a large company of people who are 
not contributing towards regular mission 
work who could be induced to give towards 
the work of a boys' club. 

It has been said that it is impossible for a 
club manager to become acquainted with a 
large number of boys in the mass club. That 
is true, but it should be remembered that the 
boys become acquainted with him. 

When it has been decided to have a club 



Various Kinds of Clubs 33 

which is to take in as many boys as the 
rooms will accommodate, it is best to limit 
the membership in the beginning, so that the 
manager may become acquainted with the 
boys who are to be largely responsible for 
the future of the club, the limit being in- 
creased from time to time, until the full num- 
ber has been reached. This plan places a 
premium upon the membership, giving it 
a value which it might not otherwise possess. 
A combination of the mass club and the 
group club makes the best form of organiza- 
tion, in the city. This is the plan which is 
being rapidly introduced in many of the 
larger clubs, some of which have not been- 
getting the results which they might have. 
This form has been arrived at from the other 
end in some churches and settlements, where 
the group club was the beginning of the 
club idea. After a number of clubs have 
been started, they have been federated. The 
plan is more easily arranged when this has 
been the case, and in some ways is more sat- 
isfactory than the formation of small groups 
selected from a large company of boys, be- 
cause the natural selection has in most cases 
been already made in the group club. How- 
ever, it is not at all impossible to divide the 



34 Boys of the Street 

boys into separate groups after the mass 
club has arrived at a large membership. The 
selection may be made according to age or 
natural interest, the latter being always the 
best method of selection. 

In the case of the federation idea, meetings 
of the united clubs may be held once a week 
for business purposes and for games, al- 
though there should be some kind of a per- 
manent organization, having a definite ob- 
ject, with its officers and general committees. 

Whatever the form of organization, it 
should be the aim of the leader to meet the 
boys as often as possible, and in a crowded 
city, where there are so many temptations 
alluring the boy into sin, some provision 
should be made for the nightly care of the 
boys of the community. For this purpose, 
the mass club, with its reading and game 
rooms, besides the occasional entertain- 
ments and talks, seems to meet the greatest 
need. 

It is well to give the boys some part in the 
management of the club. This gives them a 
personal responsibility, and they will natu- 
rally take a great deal of pride in maintaining 
a high standard for the club. Probably the 
best way to maintain order is to take the 



Various Kinds of Clubs 35 

ring-leader in the capers of the boys, and 
give him the authority of a policeman in the 
club-rooms. He will then be just as enthu- 
siastic in keeping order as he was before in 
leading the boys into mischief. 

The self-government club is, in many re- 
spects, the ideal club. A model constitution 
for this kind of a club may be found in the 
chapter on "A Boys' Club Constitution." 
The boys elect their own officers, appoint 
their own committees, and become respon- 
sible for the business of the club in every 
particular. 

The manager of the club is appealed to 
only when a question becomes too complex 
for their settlement. A wise manager will 
sometimes permit the boys to make a mis- 
take, so that they may profit through the ex- 
perience. The members of the self-govern- 
ment club should be taught to appreciate the 
fact that the success of the club depends 
upon their own efforts. The committees 
should know that they are expected to do 
the work that has been assigned to them, 
and not to depend upon the manager for the 
execution of the will of the club. 

All this develops a spirit of self-reliance, 
and it cultivates the habit of right thinking, 



36 Boys of the Street 

because the boys very readily see the result 
of wrong action taken by the club. 

The question of discipline may usually be 
left in the hands of the boys, since most boys 
have a keen sense of justice, and will stand 
up for that which is right and fair, and dis- 
cipline administered by the boys will ordi- 
narily be far more effective than if it came 
from the manager, while at the same time 
the manager may still be regarded as the 
friend of the offender. Permanent expulsion 
from the club should rarely be resorted to as 
a means of discipline. One needs to distin- 
guish between the exuberant life of boy na- 
ture and downright viciousness. 

Ordinarily, the clubs which are composed 
of boys who are never guilty of any of the 
pranks which are peculiar to boys are very 
slow affairs, and they rarely turn out a good, 
live "hustler." This, of course, does not 
necessarily follow. It is simply a matter of 
general observation, and should be an en- 
couragement to the worker who thinks that 
his boys are unusually " bad." 



IV 

SOME THINGS THAT A BOYS* CLUB 
MAY DO 

It has been said that work in a boys' club 
should be largely inspirational. By this I do 
not mean that it consists only of " goody 
goody " talks, or even the really inspirational 
kind. Neither do I mean that no definite 
work should be attempted. 

A study of street boy nature — and this 
kind should receive the most attention — will 
reveal the fact that whatever taste for quiet, 
consecutive work or enjoyment he may have 
possessed has been taken out of him by the 
experiences of the street. The glamour of 
city life has been the curse of the boy who 
has spent all of his life amidst the unhealthy 
surroundings of the cheap theatre, the saloon, 
the dance hall, or even the unusual excite- 
ment of the busy street. He now feeds 
upon this excitement, and it is with the ut- 
most difficulty that he can be brought to 
think about matters which are more refined. 
37 



38 Boys of the Street 

To take a group of such boys and suddenly 
plunge them into a course of study which 
requires hard, consecutive thinking will drive 
them away at once. We should never forget 
that we have to do, not with the ideal boy, 
but with the careless, happy-go-lucky average 
boy, who left school, or hates it, because he 
had to study, sometimes under very unfa- 
vourable circumstances, when he went there. 

How to get him to think seriously and con- 
tinuously is the problem that will confront 
the club manager. The boy loves power. 
Show him that he can obtain it through knowl- 
edge. He loves praise. Teach him how he 
may deserve it. He has energy enough to 
accomplish wonders if it can be rightly di- 
rected. Now, if we can find some form of 
education which will engage this power, we 
shall have solved the problem, and the boy 
will be on the way towards higher and better 
things. Boys like to make things. Teach 
them the dignity of labour. Most of them 
will be mechanics. Show them how they 
may become the best mechanics. It may be 
a very simple thing, sometimes; a mere sug- 
gestion, given at the right moment, will put 
a great new idea into the boy's mind which 
will completely change his career. For this 



Some Things That a Club May Do 39 

occasion the manager must be always on the 
lookout. The plans which follow are merely 
suggestive, for no one can outline the work 
which may be introduced into every boys' 
club. Each manager must work out his own 
salvation, even though it is sometimes done 
with fear and trembling. 

It has been found an excellent thing to in- 
troduce the kindergarten idea into some boys' 
clubs. This will require considerable thought, 
and may even mean the employment of a 
special teacher. For the smaller boys this 
will prove to be interesting and helpful, for 
you will find that few of them ever so much 
as heard of a kindergarten. 

As boys grow older they become interested 
in politics. City politics are especially fasci- 
nating, because the boys early take an active 
interest in them. For such, city history clubs 
may be made profitable. Study the begin- 
ning of the city's life, its early landmarks, 
its development, its industries, the various 
departments of municipal government, the 
administration of public utilities, etc. Any- 
thing that has to do with the life of the city 
may be investigated by such a club. 

In some clubs miniature elections are held, 
with all the paraphernalia of the regular elec- 



4-0 Boys of the Street 

tion system. Speeches are made for the can- 
didates, and as much liberty as possible is 
given to the orators. The various parties ap- 
point campaign committees and call mass 
meetings. Boy poll clerks, inspectors and 
watchers at the polls, are appointed, and on 
election night the regular customs are fol- 
lowed, the Australian ballot being used. 

Most boys are fond of music. A glee club 
is always popular, and instrumental music 
will interest many. A Penny Provident Bank 
will inculcate habits of saving, besides teach- 
ing many other valuable lessons. A success- 
ful club manager says with regard to this 
phase of the work: "\ consider the savings 
bank one of the best features of boys' club 
work. It is a practical businesslike way of 
teaching lessons of thrift and economy. The 
bank once successfully introduced advertises 
itself. Boys are persuaded to become depos- 
itors because they see the bank-books owned 
by their companions and are anxious to pos- 
sess one themselves. To own a bank ac- 
count, even if the deposits are counted by 
pennies, means much to the average boy. 
Then the growing amounts, the rapid way 
that pennies increase, is often a genuine sur- 
prise to boys who little realized that the few 



Some Things That a Club May Do 41 

pennies spent here and there for candy and 
cigarettes soon amounted to dollars. No 
millionaire ever counted over his riches with 
more satisfaction than some youngsters dis- 
play as they show their first dollar saved. I 
have always encouraged in my club the idea 
of saving for some definite object— a pair of 
shoes, an overcoat, a suit of clothes, even a 
bicycle— anything a boy can look forward to 
buying with his own money. Boys, even the 
poorer ones, frequently have more money 
than at first seems possible. Nearly every 
street boy picks up a good many pennies sell- 
ing papers, blacking shoes or running errands. 
If he is at all ambitious the sum may amount 
to considerable. Many of them carry their 
earnings home, but nearly every one has 
something for himself, and when they begin 
the habit of saving the little amounts they 
soon appreciate the value of even a penny." 
We once had about two thousand depos- 
itors, who saved over $6,000. The parents 
and sisters of the members should be encour- 
aged to become depositors, as they were in 
this case. A complete banking outfit may be 
secured from the Penny Provident Fund of 
New York City without any charge excepting 
for the postage. 



42 Boys of the Street 

If possible, a boys' club should have a cir- 
culating library. It should be first-class, even 
though there are no more than a dozen vol- 
umes. Travelling libraries, with a few games 
enclosed, have proved to be helpful in the 
homes. A picture loaning library might also 
be beneficial. 

Debating societies are frequently organized 
among the boys from fourteen to eighteen, 
and it almost takes one's breath away to see 
the rapidity with which they discuss and dis- 
miss matters of world-wide interest and 
importance. But the practice in debate and 
the knowledge of parliamentary law which 
is acquired, is always helpful to the boys, 
many of whom will some day debate in real 
life, when there will be real issues at stake. 

Many of the members of the clubs are 
newsboys. Why not have the boys print a 
small newspaper ? There are few things 
which will prove to be more fascinating, 
even to those who do not sell papers. 

In some cities Junior Leagues of the De- 
partment of Street Cleaning have been 
encouraged, cooperating with the street 
department in keeping the streets clean by 
compelling an observance of the city 
ordinances. Nature-study classes are some- 



Sonic Things That a Club May Do 43 

times full of interest, as has already been 
noted. The study of heroes will be found 
inspiring, and the love of animals will instil 
nobility of soul. 

Lectures or talks on the care of the body, 
the development of the sciences, the conduct 
of great business enterprises, such as the 
daily newspaper, the department store, the 
railroad, or the stock exchange, are always 
helpful, if presented in a manner which will 
appeal to the average boy. Some time ago 
we arranged for a course of addresses in our 
boys' club which became so attractive that 
the boys were glad to extend an invitation to 
their boy friends, who seemed eager to 
attend. 

The editor of the newspaper sold by the 
boys came down to tell us how a newspaper 
is made. A college professor talked on 
"Habits." A surgeon told, simply, of the 
progress of his art. A factory superintend- 
ent told the boys just what characteristics 
were most appreciated by him in his em- 
ployees, and as many of the boys expected to 
work in his factory, he was listened to with 
keenest interest. Experience has indicated 
that public talks on social purity are often 
suggestive of the very things which they are 



44 Boys of the Street 

supposed to put out of the boys' mind, and 
that more harm than good usually results 
from such addresses. 

Some clubs assume a military form. 
Others are organized for temperance work. 
And then there are the clubs similar to the 
"lend-a-hand " idea, which are organized 
for purposes of helpfulness to others. 

The following familiar entertainments are 
always appreciated: "Talking" machines, 
lantern picture-talks, " Tricks " by a profes- 
sional magician, ventriloquism, plays and 
dialogues, musical entertainments — vocal or 
instrumental, athletic exhibitions, reading 
and recitations, " Fire-Sides" with stories, 
historical impersonations and tableaus, 
shadow pictures, mock trials, experiments in 
chemistry and electricity, spelling matches, 
and informal talks on the biographies of self- 
made men. Other public entertainments will 
readily suggest themselves. Excursions to 
factories, public buildings, museums, parks, 
historical places, and outings on Saturday 
afternoons or some other convenient time 
will bring the leader into closer touch with 
the boys, besides being helpful to them in 
many ways. 

The following games may be suggestive 



Some Things That a Club May Do 45 

for use in the club: Crokinole, dominoes, 
basket-ball, hand-ball, chess, authors, tid- 
dledy winks, shuffle board, " Nellie Bly," bean 
bag, spring rifle with rubber tip on point 
of projectile, going to Jerusalem, post-office, 
beast bird or fish, stage coach, lotto, table 
tennis, pillow dex, piece puzzles, button 
button, charades, blind man's buff, donkey, 
blow the feather, spin the platter, scout, po- 
tato race, quoits. 

If manual training is desired, some of the 
following occupations will help: Mechanical 
or free hand drawing, cobbling, Venetian 
ironwork, basket weaving, bamboo work, 
bead work, box making, clay modeling, 
sloyd, china painting, cooking, wood-carving, 
whittling, scrap-book making, poster work, 
printing, passe-partout, fretwork, leather 
work, lettering, rope mat making, toy furni- 
ture making, cabinet making, carpentering, 
bookbinding and burnt woodwork. 



V 
A BOYS' CLUB CONSTITUTION 

The constitution to be adopted will de- 
pend upon the kind of a club that is to be 
organized. Four kinds of clubs are dealt 
with in this book — mass, group, combina- 
tion and self-government clubs. 

The mass club is usually run on tradition, 
although there are generally a few well un- 
derstood " rules" which are necessary for 
the highest good of the whole number. 
One of the best mass clubs that I know 
about has the briefest kind of a constitution, 
namely: "Be a gentleman. " The most 
elaborate constitution ever framed cannot do 
this for the members of the club, and it is 
admitted that the making of a gentleman is 
one of the chief things sought for in the club. 

The group club does not require a very 
elaborate constitution, because there isn't very 
much of parliamentary law in connection 
with the club. It is rather a familiar group 
under a leader who has the confidence of the 
club to such a degree that his wish usually 
becomes the law for the club. 

As the combination club is what the name 
implies — a combination of the mass and the 
46. 



A Boys' Club Constitution 47 

group clubs, it follows that what applies to 
these clubs with regard to a constitution, 
would also apply to it. 

The self-government club, however, re- 
quires more elaborate treatment in this re- 
spect, as the boys will need frequent guidance 
in their deliberations, and the rules upon 
which their organization is built must be 
clearly defined. When a constitution is de- 
sired for the other kinds of clubs mentioned, 
sufficient will be found in the constitution 
given for the self-government club to draft a 
set of rules which will serve as a guide or a 
foundation. 

It should be remembered that, after all, a 
constitution is the expression of the desires 
of the members of the club. It is not a police- 
man's baton to be held over their heads. This 
expression may be very brief, and yet it may 
comprehend all that makes up a good club. 

It is not the constitution that makes the 
club, but the club that makes the constitu- 
tion. To paraphrase a familiar expression: 
1 'The constitution follows the club." The 
following constitution may have to be adapted 
as well as adopted. It is given simply as a 
general guide to those who will readily see 
just what is needed for their particular club. 



48 Boys of the Street 

CONSTITUTION. 
Article I. 

Name. 

This organization shall be called The 
Young American Club. 

Article II. 
Object. 
The object of the club shall be to develop 
the physical, mental, and moral natures of its 
members. 

Article III. 
Colours. 
The colours of the club shall be red and blue. 

Article IV. 
Membership. 

Section 1. Any boy between the ages of 
ten and fourteen may become a member of 
the club, upon the recommendation of the 
membership committee, and upon a ma- 
jority vote of the club. 

Section 2. Each boy, before being ad- 
mitted to the privileges of the club, shall 
sign the constitution, after his election. 

Section 3. Any boy who is absent from 
four consecutive meetings will have his name 
taken from the membership roll, unless he 



A Boys* Club Constitution 49 

has a good reason for his absence, which 
must be sent to the Secretary in writing. 

Article V. 
Officers. 

Section /. There shall be a President, 
Vice-President, Secretary, Treasurer and 
Chaplain. 

Section 2. All elective officers shall be 
chosen by ballot, the persons receiving the 
highest number of votes being declared 
elected. 

Section 3. The term of office shall be 
four months. 

Article VI. 
Duties of Officers. 

Section /. The President shall preside at all 
meetings of the club. He shall have power in 
case of a tie vote to cast the deciding vote. 

Section 2. The Vice-President shall pre- 
side at all meetings of the club in the ab- 
sence of the President, and shall assist the 
President in all ways possible. 

Section 3. The Secretary shall keep an 
accurate record of all proceedings of the 
club. He shall keep a list of the names and 
residences of all the members, and call the 
roll at each meeting. 



50 Boys of the Street 

Section 4. The Treasurer shall keep a cor- 
rect account of all money received by him, 
and shall collect all dues from the members, 
and give a weekly report showing the finan- 
cial condition of the club. 

Section 5. The Chaplain shall be re- 
sponsible for such religious exercises as may 
be determined upon by the club. 

Article VII. 

Committees. 

Section 1. The following named standing 

committees shall be appointed for each term 

by the President, after consulting with the 

Executive Committee. 

(a) Membership. — It shall be the duty of 
this committee to propose desirable candi- 
dates for membership in the club, and to 
visit and report upon all absentees. 

(b) Rooms. — It shall be the duty of this 
committee to see that the club-rooms are 
properly heated, lighted and ventilated, and 
that all furniture is in its proper place before 
and after the meeting. It shall also be the 
duty of this committee to see that order is 
maintained in and about the building. 

(V) Social. — It shall be the duty of this 
committee to arrange for and take charge of 



A Boys' Club Constitution 51 

the socials given by the club, securing such 
assistance as they may need. 

(1/) Educational. — It shall be the duty of 
this committee to secure speakers for the reg- 
ular meetings of the club, to take charge of 
all work of a literary character, and to ar- 
range for all public meetings not otherwise 
provided for. 

(e) Athletic. — It shall be the duty of this 
committee to organize teams for outdoor 
games, and to have supervision over the 
pharaphernalia in the gymnasium. 

Section 2. The Executive Committee shall 
consist of the elective officers. 

Section 3. Special committees may be ap- 
pointed by the President upon the recom- 
mendation of the club. 

Section 4. The manager of the club shall 
be ex-officio member of all committees. 

Article VIII. 

Misbehaviour. 

Any boy misbehaving at a meeting of the 
club or about the building, shall be tried be- 
fore the club by a committee appointed for 
that purpose, the club determining the pun- 
ishment which shall be inflicted. 



52 Boys of the Street 

Article IX. 
Dues. 
Dues shall be one cent a week, payable 
weekly. 

Article X. 
Meetings. 
Section i. The club shall hold its regular 
meetings on every Tuesday night at seven 
o'clock. 

Section 2. Special meetings may be called 
by the Executive Committee, or upon the 
written request of three members. 

Section 3. The quarterly meeting of the 
club shall be held on the first Tuesday even- 
ings in January, April, July and October, 
when there shall be an election of officers, 
and reports from the standing committees. 

Article XI. 
Quorum. 
Two-thirds of the entire membership of 
the club shall constitute a quorum. 

Article XII. 
Amendments. 
This constitution may be amended by a 
two-thirds vote of the members present at 
any regular meeting, notice of such amend- 
ment having been given one week in advance. 



VI 
THE HEADQUARTERS OF THE CLUB 

The success of any enterprise depends 
very largely upon the attention given to de- 
tails, and what is true of other matters ap- 
plies with equal force to the boys' club. 

The arrangement of a room and the selec- 
tion of its furnishings have much to do with 
holding the boys. They cannot explain why 
the room has an unpleasant effect, or why 
they become restless and drowsy, but the 
manager may know, if he gives the matter a 
little attention. A proper regard for venti- 
lation will work a great change in the be- 
haviour of the boys, who cannot read or con- 
tinue to play games because of the impure 
atmosphere. The arrangement of the lights 
is an important consideration. A poorly 
lighted room is never attractive, but a glare 
of gas may be equally bad. 

There should be plenty of carefully selected 

pictures, the meaning of which it may be 

well to explain to the boys, so that they may 

carry with them the lessons or the idea in the 

53 



54 Boys of the Street 

mind of the artist. It is much better, how- 
ever, to have one good picture than to fill the 
walls of the room with a lot of cheap chromos 
which may mean absolutely nothing, or sug- 
gest something worse. Good pictures are 
cheap enough; in fact, they may be cut out 
of some of our first-class magazines or art 
journals, and changed in the frames from 
time to time. 

Fresh-cut flowers tastefully arranged, help- 
ful mottoes placed upon the walls or upon 
the blackboard, or any little thing that may 
be copied and placed in their own homes, 
will be found helpful in training the boys to 
appreciate the beautiful things which God 
has given mankind in nature or through the 
talents of men. 

Many new clubs are dependent upon their 
friends for second-hand reading matter, to be 
used in the club-rooms. This should be re- 
placed as soon as possible by new and regu- 
larly published matter, which must be kept 
on file in an orderly manner, because the en- 
vironment of the boys will have much to do 
with their general behaviour, and the best 
influence will always be exerted when the 
rooms are neatly kept and everything is done 
decently and in order. 



The Headquarters of the Club 55 

The games should be carefully selected, so 
that even in their amusements the boys may 
be trained to right habits of thinking. It is 
best to have tables in the game-room which 
accommodate only four boys each. 

When there is a gymnasium — and this 
should be secured if at all possible — it should 
be kept as clean and orderly as circumstances 
will permit. It may be suggestive to some 
of the boys if they are reminded that their 
dirty hands and faces are not in harmony 
with their surroundings, and it would be 
well to have soap and water close at hand, 
so that they may be used when required, 
although it will not be long before the neatly 
kept room will have its influence upon the 
average boy. 

It is best not to permit the boys to get the 
impression that you have an unlimited 
amount of money at your disposal — very few 
clubs have, by the way — because it will have 
the effect of making them reckless with the 
privileges which they then enjoy, and they 
will not appreciate what you give them so 
much as if they realized that the new feature 
cost somebody a struggle; and they will 
enjoy it still more if they have done the 
struggling themselves. 



56 Boys of the Street 

One club that I know about became in- 
terested in securing the material for a small 
gymnasium for their own use, and they pro- 
ceeded to earn the necessary money by 
gathering the empty tin cans found upon the 
lots and in the garbage heaps in their part of 
the city, and selling them to a concern that 
paid them ten cents per hundred cans. Some 
of the boys earned several dollars in this 
way, and enough money was raised to fit up 
quite a respectable gymnasium. 

A group club may meet in the home of the 
leader, and there are many advantages in this 
arrangement. But if it is at all possible, the 
club should have a room set apart for its 
own use, which may be decorated with the 
club colours and such other trophies as will 
inspire an "esprit de corps." 

The inability to secure an ideal room 
should not prevent an earnest man or woman 
from organizing a boys' club. Almost any 
kind of a room in any kind of a building- 
may be transformed into a club-room. In- 
deed, the more unique the room, the better 
it will be enjoyed. 

I remember that when some of the boys 
with whom I associated when I was nine 
years old organized a club which met in the 



The Headquarters of the Club 57 

dark cellar of a New York tenement, and 
when we had nothing but tallow candles to 
illuminate the darkness, we thought that 
that club-room could not be beaten. 

But while it is true that other things may 
easily make up for the lack in certain things 
in the furnishings and the arrangements of a 
boys' club-room, other things being equal, 
the room that is most neatly kept, will hold 
boys longest, and do them the most per- 
manent good. 

In some instances schoolhouses have been 
opened for the use of boys' clubs. There is 
no reason why this may not be done more 
generally throughout the country, especially 
in the great cities, where social centres for 
the people are so much needed. It would 
seem that any reputable person should be 
able to secure the use of a schoolroom for 
boys' club meetings, upon the payment of a 
small fee. 

Social settlements, are, of course, rec- 
ognized as centres for special boys' work, 
group clubs receiving particular attention. 
The average settlement will always welcome 
the club which desires to make its building 
the headquarters of the club. This privilege 
is often secured by helping to pay for the 



58 Boys of the Street 

care of the room. There is no doubt that 
the best group clubs are found in the settle- 
ments, largely because the workers are ex- 
perts, and because they go at the work in a 
businesslike way. 

But, more and more are the churches be- 
coming community centres. The rooms in 
the average church are more conveniently 
arranged than the schoolroom for boys' club 
work, and it should not be difficult to secure 
the permission of an official church board to 
use one of these rooms for a club composed 
of the boys in the neighbourhood. 

Some boys' clubs throughout the country 
have been so greatly prospered and so richly 
blessed that they have been permitted to 
erect buildings which are being used ex- 
clusively for boys' club work. Such a build- 
ing, is, of course, ideal, and many more of 
them should be erected in our American 
cities. 



VII 
RELIGION IN THE CLUB 

The question of attempting any direct 
religious work in the club has been variously 
decided. When the club is composed of the 
members of a Sunday-school class, as many 
good clubs are, this question is not very per- 
plexing, as the boys receive religious training 
in the school. But when one is working 
with mass clubs in neighbourhoods which 
are not being reached religiously, and where 
the members of the club are not Sunday- 
school attendants, it is quite another matter. 

Many club managers think it unwise to 
introduce religion into the club because of 
the large Roman Catholic and Hebrew ele- 
ment represented among the club members, 
or because they fear that it will have the 
effect of driving away the boy, who, ap- 
parently, cares nothing for religious teach- 
ing. 

If, however, the club is connected with a 
church organization, and if it was organized 
59 



60 Boys of the Street 

for the purpose of winning the boys for 
Christ, there seems to be but one thing to do 
— win them. How this is to be accom- 
plished, will depend upon the wisdom of the 
manager. It may be best, for various reasons, 
never to have an open religious meeting, but 
rather to do personal work among the boys 
when the opportunity offers. 

In a certain Sunday-school there are more 
boys than girls, most of the boys having 
been drawn into the school through the boys' 
club connected with the church, although 
there has never been a public invitation given 
in the club-rooms, neither has there ever 
been a religious meeting held especially for 
the members of the club. 

However, prejudice against religious teach- 
ing is not nearly so prevalent among boys as 
is generally supposed, because it has been 
found that boys can be interested in the 
gospel of Christ, and that it is the power of 
God unto salvation even for the wild street 
arab, — although, of course, it requires a 
leader who has some knowledge of boy 
nature, and who can present the gospel in 
such a way that it will attract him. 

It is a well-known fact that boys between 
the ages of ten and fifteen are more inter- 



Religion in the Club 6l 

ested in religious matters than they are at 
any other period in their lives. It seems a 
pity that so few workers possess the sense 
or the tact to give the boys the best thing 
that will ever come to them, at a time when 
it will be most readily received. 

The claim that a denominational club will 
drive the boys away is not well founded, 
because even the Jew and the Roman Cath- 
olic will come to the Protestant club so 
long as it continues to prove attractive, 
although he may not come to the Sunday- 
school. 

Sometimes, however, we are so much con- 
cerned about there being enough religion in 
our plans for the boy, that we forget to 
leave enough boy in them. "The building 
is sacred," some good brother will say, "and 
we cannot permit that which savours of the 
secular." According to his notion, the ideal 
boys' club would consist of prayer-meetings 
and Bible classes, with an occasional mis- 
sionary talk as a treat, and, perhaps, magic 
lantern views of the Holy Land as a dizzy 
climax. 

I believe that a club or a work of any kind 
for boys that stops short of religion fails at a 
most vital point. But it must not be for- 



62 Boys of the Street 

gotten that the average street boy " needs 
homely virtues more than spiritual graces/' 
Much of the religious training of the Sunday- 
school is unnatural for the boy of a strong, 
virile nature. He despises cant, and he will 
not be a prig. Practically all the speakers at 
Sunday-school gatherings, in relating the 
conversion of Sunday-school scholars, con- 
fine themselves to " sweet, beautiful, blue- 
eyed, golden-haired, little girls/' To the 
American boy, nearly everybody who has 
anything to do with religion is supposed to 
be a woman — from the kindergarten teacher 
to the angels in heaven. It is not to be 
wondered at that the presentation of that 
kind of a religion does not attract the street 
boy. He loves and worships the heroic. I 
believe that the reason many boys leave the 
Sunday-school is because the heroic and 
manly side of the ideal man Christ Jesus is 
not taught in such a way as to appeal to this 
side of boy-life. 

Philip E. Howard, of the Sunday-School 
Times, tells the following incident: 

"A crown of thorns, brought from the 
East, was shown from the platform of a city 
mission-school by the superintendent. Very 
little was said to aid in this visible demon- 



Religion in the Club 63 

stration of the means used in the humiliation 
of Jesus, but after the school session the 
roughest youngster in the room made his 
way alone to the desk. 

11 ' Say, may I look at that ? ' he said. 

" ' Yes/ answered the superintendent, ' and 
you may take it in your hands.' 

"The boy rested the crown of thorns 
lightly on one hand and touched it here and 
there with the other. His mischief-breeding 
eyes were serious. He looked earnestly at 
the superintendent, and lifted the crown to 
the platform table. 

11 ' Did He wear one like that ? ' asked the 
boy. 

" ' Yes, very much like that, I think.' 

" ' Well, if He wore a thing like that, I 
don't wonder that He had pain.' And the 
rough little boy of the street made no mis- 
chief as he went through the crowd and out 
of the school that day. 

" Here was a phase of the life of Jesus that 
appealed to him — a waif who was known to 
be brutally handled at home." 

" When I go fishing for trout," said Amos 
R. Wells, " I do not consider what I liked 
for breakfast nor what I want for dinner; I 
consider what the trout's mouth is watering 



64 Boys of the Street 

for. When the average teacher goes fishing 
for a boy, however, I fear that she bases her 
campaign entirely on her own likes and dis- 
likes. She is interested in pretty little stories 
with lovely morals, and she takes it for 
granted that the boys will be interested in 
the same thing. She is fascinated with a 
volume of Mr. Meyer's noble expositions, 
and she jumps to the conclusion that the 
boys will be glad to have her read a chapter 
to them. She is delighted to discover the 
hidden symbolism of the Bible, as that Go- 
liath typifies worldliness and David the quiet 
power of Christian faith, and she is entirely 
oblivious to the boys' concentration of inter- 
est on Goliath's armour and David's sling." 

Hearing his class talk baseball one Sunday, 
the teacher remarked: " Boys, not anymore 
baseball; I want to hear no more about base- 
ball. This is the Sunday-school." If that 
teacher had been wise, he would have pur- 
chased a baseball guide for the current year 
and studied it. Anyway, he should have 
talked baseball with his class on that Sun- 
day. Had he done so, he would have en- 
tered upon the study of the lesson with a 
bond of sympathy between himself and his 
class. 



Religion in the Club 6^ 

Valuable as the International Sunday-school 
lessons are in Sunday-school work, I think 
that we have become slaves to the system. 
There is no reason why the teacher or leader 
of a boys' class should not get as far away 
as possible from the ordinary Sunday-school 
lesson, if that seems the best thing to do, 
especially if his work is done in connection 
with a boys' club. Old Testament stories 
may be made intensely vivid to the street 
boy, and when he learns to admire and en- 
joy the Bible as literature, and when he finds 
out, as B. Paul Neuman wrote, that " faith 
and immortality, and the forgiveness of sin 
are subjects just as ' live ' and almost as im- 
portant, as vaccination and strikes," a long 
step will have been taken towards the goal 
of arousing a genuine and hearty interest in 
religion. 

I remember a rollicking boy in a New 
York tenement who burned his face very se- 
verely on a Fourth of July. After he had 
sufficiently recovered to sit up, he began 
reading the Bible, — for want of something 
else. He became interested in the stories of 
David, and for weeks that boy read nothing 
but the Old Testament, as he sat in a rocker 
in the back yard. And he did not do it for 



66 Boys of the Street 

show, either. He read because those unfa- 
miliar characters had suddenly become real 
to him — just as real as the heroes of the dime 
novel— and that is saying a great deal for that 
particular boy. 

I sometimes think that we are too much 
afraid of innovations. In a certain Sunday- 
school that was surrounded by fully a hun- 
dred thousand children, the average attend- 
ance was about three hundred. In spite of 
every effort put forth by devoted workers 
the attendance could not be increased. The 
workers were given the liberty of holding a 
meeting on a week-day afternoon which was 
called a "Children's Hour." A children's 
choir of forty voices was organized, the 
children recited or sang solos and duets, 
sometimes the stereopticon was used, and 
the pastor always gave a ten minute address 
packed full of gospel, — although it was prac- 
tically a children's program. But — and this 
was what stunned the critics — the children 
also sang popular street songs of the best 
type. They threw themselves into the sing- 
ing in a way that threatened to burst some- 
thing, while the staid old sexton stood near 
the door, shaking his head and nervously 
fingering his keys. They also sang hymns, 



Religion in the Club 67 

which were stencilled upon a banner, but 
they were not so familiar with them. They 
were street children — Jews, Catholics, and 
those of no religious faith — and had rarely, 
if ever, gone to Sunday-school. When the 
critics came to the leader and remonstrated 
with him because he allowed the children to 
sing street songs at a religious meeting, he 
calmly told the objectors that it was not a 
religious meeting, but an entertainment for 
the children into which he introduced re- 
ligion. They permitted ballads to be sung 
at their entertainments, he said: why not 
permit the children to sing them at theirs ? 
The result of the work was that there were 
fully twice as many present at the children's 
hour as there were at the Sunday-school, and 
it is not claiming too much to add that they 
received as much gospel as did the children 
in the Sunday-school. 

But change there must be if we are to reach 
and hold the boy over twelve or fourteen in 
the so-called mission districts of our cities. 
If the day stands in the way of changing the 
program of the school and introducing fea- 
tures that seem out of harmony with the 
Sabbath, it might not be a bad plan to change 
the day for the meetings for this particular 



68 Boys of the Street 

class of boys: possibly operating through the 
boys' club. 

I would not have it understood that I see 
no mission for the average church Sunday- 
school in a home church. I am now plead- 
ing for the street boy. No Sunday-school 
worker of any experience will claim that the 
average Sunday-school of to-day is making 
much progress in this kind of work. In- 
deed, our church Sunday-schools are barely 
holding their own, and it is becoming a seri- 
ous question as to what will become of that 
institution, great as are its possibilities if 
rightly appreciated. 

The Presbyterian Church has made prac- 
tically no progress in the number of attend- 
ants in its Sunday-schools during the past 
five years. The twentieth century move- 
ment for the ingathering of a million new 
scholars brought in about five hundred thou- 
sand children, but it required that number 
to take the places of those who had mean- 
time dropped out of the ranks. The same 
thing is practically true of every denomina- 
tion in this country and abroad. During 
a recent year in a western city, 20,000 
children were lost to the Sunday-schools 
of that city. In the same year, London 



Religion in the Club 69 

lost over 30,000, according to a printed 
report. 

If the Sunday-school cannot hold its own 
among the better class of children, what may 
we expect when it comes to handling the 
problem of the street boy ? 

Unfortunately, when the average Sunday- 
school engages in boys' club work, the man- 
agers insist that the boy must attend the 
school if he would receive the benefits of 
club or reading-room, with the result that 
the boy will usually abandon both the school 
and the club, because the school rarely has a 
strong enough life of its own to hold him. 
Strange that the Sunday-school worker does 
not get his cue from the things that win the 
boy to the club! Not that the Sunday-school 
should introduce on Sunday the gymnasium 
or the checker game of the boys' club, but 
something of the same snap and spirit 
would wonderfully attract the wide-awake 
boy. 

Neither is the Junior Endeavour Society 
reaching him. The average Junior Endeav- 
our Society is made up of girls. When I 
asked a boy why he did not attend a Junior 
Rally he replied: "Oh, it's on de bum." 
Analyzed, his answer meant that there was 



70 Boys of the Street 

only one boy in the society with which he 
was to go. The average boy of the age 
with which we are dealing is not attracted 
by a society that takes in both boys and 
girls. The boys' club will attract him be- 
cause it satisfies his natural instinct for the 
society of those of his kind. 

One who has had considerable experience 
with boys recently said: 

4 'The Endeavour Society movement has, 
through its great body of enthusiastic young 
men and women, its admirable organization, 
fellowship and scope, and its excellent litera- 
ture, its wide-awake leaders and its popular 
hold, the best opportunity to attack this 
problem. If these leaders would be willing 
to acknowledge that possibly the methods 
used for young men and the weak imitations 
of the Sunday-school are not always the best 
methods to use with boys, and various clubs 
of boys could be formed under their shelter 
whose aim should be to grow up later into 
full-fledged Endeavour Societies, I believe 
that the Endeavour movement would be 
strengthened, that a large number of excel- 
lent boy leaders would be provided, and that 
thousands of boys would be held to the 
church and the Endeavour movement who 



Religion in the Club 71 

are now drifting away for lack of the right 
touch." 

There is no doubt that much of this would 
take place if the aggressive members of the 
Endeavour Societies would throw themselves 
into boys' work. 

The Young Men's Christian Association is 
not reaching the street boy. The Associa- 
tion is too " high-toned" for him, admirable 
though it may be for the specific work which 
now engages its attention. "Any young 
man of good moral character, without regard 
to religious belief, is eligible to member- 
ship," but that does not reach the street boy, 
liberal as is this qualification. This is not 
said in criticism of that splendid organiza- 
tion. I am simply mentioning a fact which 
is generally admitted among its workers. If 
the Young Men's Christian Association is to 
reach the street boy it must establish separate 
branches in the parts of the city where the 
boy lives, and it must conduct the enterprise 
very much as the boys' club is conducted, 
although, needless to say, it will not make 
the mistake that the average , boys' club 
makes, when it leaves out religion. 

It seems to me that instead of the boys' 
club being an organization from which re- 



72 Boys of the Street 

ligion must be debarred, it really presents 
one of the finest opportunities for such work. 
In one of the churches that I know some- 
thing about, there was a chaplain in connec- 
tion with practically every club and society. 
It seemed the perfectly natural thing to have 
such an officer in the boys' club because of 
this fact. The office may be filled by one of 
the older boys, and at the beginning of the 
regular meeting he may read a brief portion 
of scripture, and he might lead the club in 
repeating the Lord's prayer or some other 
prayer which may be applicable to the club 
and its special needs. It is recognized by 
the boys that the chaplain is a regular officer 
in the United States army, and this may be 
made the occasion of the introduction of 
such an officer into the club. It may seem 
best, sometimes, to have an adult serve in 
this capacity. If this is done, and especially 
if the minister or an experienced worker fills 
the office, it will give him an opportunity — 
or an excuse — to give the boys an occasional 
address on religious matters. This office 
should be an elective one. If this is so, the 
boys will have a deeper interest in the serv- 
ices of the incumbent, because he is their 
own creation. Even a circus recently ap- 



Religion in the Club 73 

pointed a minister as its chaplain. He is to 
constantly travel with the thousand or more 
members of the company. Why should not 
a boys' club have a chaplain, too ? Rightly 
presented, the matter will appeal to every 
boy in the club. 

In some neighbourhoods it may be a good 
plan to have a mass-meeting for the boys on 
Sunday afternoons, conducted by the chap- 
lain. Attendance should not be made com- 
pulsory, but the meeting may be made so 
interesting that the boys will want to come. 
As already stated, the study of Bible char- 
acters may be made very interesting to boys, 
and under the direction of a wise Christian 
teacher, the members of the club may be led 
to take a deep interest in the things that have 
to do with religion. Gathering together a 
class of boys who are not touched by any 
other religious organization, it will pay to 
put into this effort the very best that God has 
given you. 



r 



VIII 
THE CLUBS' " ESPRIT DE CORPS " 

Money is not the chief consideration in 
making the club a success. There is some- 
thing which money cannot bring to a club, 
and yet, without this almost indefinable some- 
thing, the club will be a failure. 

There is a club in New York which spends 
five thousand dollars a year for its work, and 
it is doing good work, too. But there is an- 
other club in a western city with a member- 
ship about twice as large as the New York 
club, which managed to get along on thirty- 
six dollars, and the western club accomplished 
a great deal of good, even though the work 
attempted was not so elaborate as'that of the 
New York club. The success of the west- 
ern club was due to its esprit de corps. 
Every boy in the club was thoroughly en- 
thused. He was intensely interested in mak- 
ing that club a success. 

One way to arouse this interest is by having 
the boys pay something for the privileges that 
they enjoy. It is a mistaken policy to con- 
tinually offer privileges to any class without 
74 



The Clubs' "Esprit de Corps' 7 75 

requiring some service or self-help. This of 
itself is an educative feature that is most 
valuable. I once had a young men's club 
which was limited to ten members. They 
were all employed in factories near the 
church. The boys wanted a gymnasium. I 
told them that I would provide them with a 
room, if they would manufacture some of 
the material necessary for fitting up the 
gymnasium, and that I would help them in 
the matter of purchasing other material, 
which they could not afford to buy. They 
soon had a simple outfit, and I had con- 
tributed only about ten dollars. The boys 
appreciated it far more than if it had been 
given to them outright, and it was a pleasure 
to see how affectionately they regarded every 
part of that crude affair. It was their own — 
purchased at a real sacrifice. The moral and 
mental discipline acquired through this effort 
was of more value than any physical training 
they might have received in a more elaborate 
gymnasium, and the club meant more to 
them after that. 

In some clubs there is a small initiation fee 
with regular dues, but these rarely amount 
to more than one dollar a year, payable 
monthly or weekly. Most boys can pay a 



76 Boys of the Street 

penny a week, and it is a good plan to have 
the boys pay it to the treasurer when they 
respond to the roll-call at each business meet- 
ing, the secretary checking the attendance, 
and the treasurer the amount of the dues paid. 

The boys will always be interested in hav- 
ing a name for their club, and it should be 
chosen by the members themselves, although 
they may need some help in this matter. 
Sometimes they will be tempted to name it 
-The Lily Club," or -The Yellow Kids," or, 
perhaps, -The Cuban Avengers/' The 
name, however, should mean something to 
the boys, and should be selected because of 
the inspiration which comes from it, or be- 
cause it suggests the object of the club. 
Following are the names of some successful 
clubs: -Success Club," -Young Ameri- 
cans," -Loyalty Club," -The Pilgrims," 
-North Side Boys' Club," " Agassiz Club," 
-Clean Street Aids." 

In addition to a name, some clubs have a 
motto. Very frequently it is a text of Scrip- 
ture. -Our God, whom we serve, is able," 
-Not slothful in business, fervent inspirit, 
serving the Lord," have been helpful to some 
boys' clubs. Other clubs have been inspired 
by the following mottoes: - To do the best 



The Clubs' " Esprit de Corps" 77 

we can, and to rejoice with those who can 
do better " ; " Progress, " 

" Look upward, and not down, 
Look forward, and not back, 
Look out, and not in, 
Lend a hand." 

By all means have a club colour. When 
there are several clubs in connection with the 
same organization, it is best to have a ground 
colour, to which each club may add another, 
which will distinguish it from the other clubs, 
and yet indicate the relationship. This would 
be especially applicable to the group clubs 
which are made up of the members compos- 
ing a mass club. If, for instance, the ground 
colour selected is blue, the first club may 
have red and blue, the second yellow and 
blue, the third white and blue, and so on. 

A boys' club never fails to become enthusi- 
astic when giving the club yell. The words 
of almost any college yell may be paraphrased 
for the convenience of the boys, if it seems 
difficult to secure an original yell. One club 
has adopted the following yell : 

" Boom-a-lacka ! Boom-a-lacka ! 
Sizz ! Boom ! Bah ! 
We're the Young Americans ! 
Rah! Rah! Rah!" 



78 Boys of the Street 

Some managers have a genius for compos- 
ing club songs. Sometimes they are so 
elaborate that they give the name, the place 
and time of meeting, the object of the club, 
the name of the manager and the club's admi- 
ration for him, and close with an invitation 
to attend the meetings. They are usually set 
to some popular tune, so that the club can 
master the song in a single evening. 

Songs for special occasions may be easily 
composed by some one connected with the 
club. In fact, some of the boys will compose 
quite a good many songs themselves when 
once the spirit of club singing is aroused. 

Button badges, with the initials of the club 
name upon them, are worn with considerable 
pride, and arouse much interest among the 
boys outside the club. Special ribbon badges 
for the officers of the club are sometimes 
worn, especially during the meeting. 

Membership cards are quite useful. In- 
deed, they are almost essential. They may 
be used as admission cards, and should be left 
with the person who has charge of the games 
whenever a game is borrowed, so that he may 
know whom to hold responsible for its return. 
The card is quite simple, the following de- 
sign answering all ordinary purposes: 



The Clubs' " Esprit de Corps " 79 



No. ... , 1900 

North Side Boys' Club 

Ninth Avenue, N., near Washington 

Name 

Address 



The rules of the club may be printed on 
the back of the card. These should be few 
and enforced. Sometimes probation cards 
are issued, and if, after a month's trial the boy 
proves himself worthy, he is admitted to 
full membership, and given a regular ticket. 
Whenever there is a variety of tickets, they 
should always be printed on differently col- 
oured cardboard. 

Have public meetings open with a salute to 
the American flag, the form of salute being 
somewhat as follows: "I give my heart, my 
head, my hand, to God, my home, my 
native land." This may be followed by the 
club song and the club yell. 

If the boy can really be persuaded to give 
heart, head and hand to God, home, and 
native land, one could not ask for more, for 
this is the sum of man's duty. The boys' 
club is doing much in this direction. 



IX 
CLUB MANAGERS 

A club may have the best appliances to 
be obtained and an unlimited amount of 
money with which to push its work, and yet 
be run into the ground because of the incom- 
petency of its manager. The success of 
the whole enterprise depends upon the wis- 
dom of the man or the woman who has the 
work in charge. 

Of all kinds of social or religious effort, 
the personal element enters most largely into 
boys' club work. It is more attractive to the 
street boy than an institution or an abstract 
principle. Many a so-called ignorant mission 
worker is having larger success with boys 
than some college graduates, and, probably, 
is doing them more good, possibly because 
he or she understands them better. Because 
one can glibly quote pedantic phrases as to 
the social conditions of the poor, it does not 
always follow that one has the best grasp of 
the situation. 

go 



Club Managers 8l 



l t> 



Genuine interest in the boy is taken for 
granted. It is also assumed that the worker 
is a Christian — that is, one who has the spirit 
of Christ. And this spirit will constitute 
the major part of one's personality, and, 
hence, one's influence. 

It is quite a fad, among a certain class, to 
take up some form of social, or even relig- 
ious work, and then to drop it when it is 
found that it means hard work, or the exer- 
cise of brain power. The faddist is not the 
successful boys' club worker. Neither is the 
man or the woman with a "mission." 
There is a seriousness about the work that 
should engage the best that there is in us, 
but sometimes the tremendously serious man- 
ner in which some people seek to reform 
others is quite laughable. And the average 
reformer is rarely a success in boys' club 
work. 

The successful boys' club worker has a 
store of humour which is always at command. 
Not that he needs to tell funny stories, but he 
must see the funny side of what would dis- 
hearten the average man. In boys'club work 
the appreciation of a joke is the beginning of 
wisdom. This sense of humour is some- 
times quite as effective as a policeman's club. 



82 Boys of the Street 

I knew a young lawyer who undertook to 
manage a room full of boys who were rather 
inclined to have some fun out of any new 
man who came down in the capacity of 
" care-taker/' As a rule, boys don't like to 
be " taken care of." The lawyer had rather a 
serious face, anyway, and he was very much 
in earnest. During the evening an amusing 
incident occurred which raised a laugh in a 
corner of the room. The care-taker swooped 
down upon the little group, and administered 
a rebuke which was worthy of a better 
cause. In the earnestness of his oration he ac- 
cidentally struck a boy in the face. Instantly 
every boy in the room was after him. They 
threw him down-stairs, and then chased him 
until he was taken under the care of a police- 
man. An appreciation of the ridiculous 
would have saved him, and he might still 
be working with the boys in that club, do- 
ing effective service, because he was really a 
very good fellow. 

It should always be remembered that the 
influence exerted in the boys' club depends 
altogether upon the character of the leader. 
In the schoolroom the teacher is supported 
by a certain well-recognized authority. The 
club manager has only tact and force of 



Club Managers 83 

character. But if he has these, he is sure of 
his ground; surer than if he had the backing 
of the most feared school official. 

A successful manager must be a man of a 
great deal of enthusiasm. He must have 
sympathy for the boys. He must have 
patience and yet be firm. He must be ab- 
solutely honest, never making a promise that 
he knows he cannot fulfill, and he must take 
a personal interest in every member of the 
club, so far as that is possible. He should 
visit the boys in their homes, and become 
acquainted with their home life, thus becom- 
ing familiar with the peculiar situation of 
each boy, and knowing far better just how 
to deal with him than a hundred meetings in 
the club-rooms would indicate. 

He may have any number of assistants, 
but he should be present every time the 
club meets. Furthermore, he should always 
be on time. There are few things that are 
more demoralizing in club work than a tardy 
manager. The assistants should arrange to 
be present on the same night of each week 
when they cannot come every night, be- 
cause, in most cases, they will be likely to 
meet the same boys, week after week; and 
it is only in this way that they will have an 



84 Boys of the Street 

opportunity of knowing the boys intimately. 
It is absolutely necessary that a warm friend- 
ship exist between the boy and the manager 
before the greatest amount of good may be 
accomplished. 

It is a good plan to specialize the work of 
the attendants, especially when the club is 
large. Select one man to look after the 
reading matter, and make him responsible 
for it in every way. Another might have 
charge of the games. This task should not 
become perfunctory, but he should make a 
study of his work, noting, for instance, the 
effect of certain games upon the boys, and 
inventing new games for the boys which 
will be an improvement upon those which 
are being used by the club. Still another 
should be delegated to see that the room is 
well kept, — lights, pictures, and all furnish- 
ings being under his care. One man might 
keep a record of the attendance of the club 
members, using a day-book containing the 
names of all of the boys, and checking them 
off as they enter the room. In this way the 
manager will know which boys will need his 
attention. A complete record book should 
always be kept by this same man, showing 
the name, address, age, number, occupation, 



Club Managers 85 

pet, and hero of each boy, besides other 
points of interest. 

This may seem like spending a great deal 
of time in details, but that is what helps 
make the club successful. The manager 
should be relieved of as much detail work as 
is possible, so that he may give all of his 
time to the individual boys. He may ac- 
complish more by playing a game of 
dominoes with that new boy than he could 
by spending the entire evening giving out 
the games at the desk, although he would 
probably learn a great deal doing that, if he 
is a close observer. 

The presence of a refined woman who un- 
derstands boys will usually have a good 
effect upon the boys, although some of them 
may be inclined to show off at first. There 
is no reason why a woman should not take 
entire charge of the club. In fact, some of 
the most successful boys' club workers are 
women. 

The club-room attendant should remember 
that when he shouts or becomes excited he 
is losing his grip on the boys, because they 
are not slow in appreciating the weakness of 
which this is a sign. 

More important than what is done is the 



86 Boys of the Street 

question as to who does it. It may be a 
boys' club or simply a reading-room. It may 
be through the evening classes or through a 
social evening at one's home that the boy 
will be reached. It may be a Junior Republic 
or a City History Club, a League for Street 
Cleaning or an Anti-"Some-thing-or-other" 
Society. But whatever it is, do not depend 
upon the method. No one has ever dis- 
covered an organization that will universally 
help boys. A mother of seven boys was 
asked what her method was, as they had all 
turned out well. "Bless your soul," she 
replied, "I have seven methods." If the 
boys are to be helped, it will be when the 
worker has made his work a passion— and 
that will solve almost any problem. 

There is an increasing demand for men and 
women who will make boys' work a life oc- 
cupation. 

Mr. Frank S. Mason, one of the leading 
club managers in this country, recently said: 

"Universities are establishing professor- 
ships in child study. Every social settlement 
recognizes the importance of work for boys. 
The church and the Young Men's Christian 
Association are laying out, and offering 
greater advantages to the boy. All along the 



Club Managers 87 

line it is becoming recognized that the boys 
of to-day are the men of to-morrow. 

"These are hopeful signs, and why is it 
not wise, at this time, to suggest that this 
position, with its wonderful opportunities for 
doing good to humanity, shall be adopted by 
some of the brightest young men of the 
country, as a profession ? 

"There can be no valid objection, except 
that the means of support are so scanty and 
inadequate for the conduct of the work, and 
that the basis of support is on such an inse- 
cure footing. Every year, however, adds to 
the number of clubs that are formed, and ex- 
tends the life of the majority of those which 
have been previously organized. 

"The average director's salary is, to-day, 
larger than that of the average minister, and 
it is safe to say, without any disparagement 
to the boys' club director, that the education 
demanded for the position is not as great as 
is that demanded for the ministry. Certainly 
the work does not demand more from the 
man, in the way of time or effort, and the 
spiritual rewards are nearly as great." 



SOME GENERAL OBSERVATIONS 

One of the best ways to win boys is to be- 
lieve in them. The world does not believe in 
boys. Most people want to get rid of them. 
If a window is found broken, our first thought 
is that some "bad boy " has done it. I do 
not believe in making a silly thing out of a 
boy — you would not get very far along even 
if you tried it — but I do believe in giving him 
the same chance as a girl. 

The standard set for the behaviour of a boy 
is what a nice, sweet, clean girl will not do. 
The boy may be wrong, but this negative 
standard does not appeal to him. He is not 
very sweet or beautiful; at least, the boy's 
sweetness and beauty are not much spoken of. 
The average boy knows that his sister sins as 
much as he does, but in a different way. 
She is selfish, jealous, covetous, deceitful, — 
as he is — but the sins of her heart are not so 
much in evidence as the sins of his mouth. 
Give the boy a fair show! 



Some General Observations 89 

Study the tastes and talents of the boy and 
use them in reaching him. A Sunday-school 
teacher had a boy in his class who gave him 
a great deal of trouble. He finally went to 
the mother of the boy to talk with her about 
his needs. ' ' Don't talk to me about that boy, '' 
she blurted out, as soon as she discovered his 
mission. " I have trouble enough with him; 
he is a great trial to me. Just come into the 
kitchen with me and see what he has done 
there. " The teacher followed the tired mother 
into the kitchen and there on the walls were 
drawn pictures of animals and landscapes and 
people. They were well drawn, and the 
teacher saw the artist in embryo. He said to 
the mother: "I thank you for bringing me 
into the kitchen. You have given me the 
key to your boy's heart." 

Next Sunday he was at his place with a pad 
of paper and a good soft lead pencil, and he 
used it in the class. He wanted a map drawn 
that day, and he asked the boy if he would 
draw it. He said to him: "I have learned 
that you can draw. Just make that outline 
with the water line, then draw these moun- 
tains and put in these rivers and mark the 
towns." 

The boy did it; he was a partner in the 



90 Boys of the Street 

concern that day, and it marked the end of 
all trouble in the class so far as that particular 
boy was concerned. 

There is nothing like getting into the homes 
of the boys in order to reach them. An in- 
cident which occurred during the early part of 
my career as a Sunday-school teacher has 
often helped me to bear with an unruly boy. 
This particular boy had been quite trouble- 
some, and seemed to be demoralizing the en- 
tire class. I told the superintendent that he 
must be taken out of the class. It did not oc- 
cur to me at the time just where he was to go. 
I was simply anxious to get rid of him. Dur- 
ing the week that followed 1 called at the 
boy's home, because I was not altogether 
satisfied with my own course. I met his 
mother and sisters, as well as the boy him- 
self, and spent a very pleasant evening, noth- 
ing being said about the trouble in the class. 

On the next Sunday I went to the superin- 
tendent and told him that I had decided to 
keep the boy. I have never forgotten the 
look of pleasure and relief which came into 
his face. Later, when I became a superin- 
tendent I understood what that look meant. 
Soon after the boy came into the class. He 
had a small package which he handed to me 



Sonic General Observations 91 

with some embarrassment. I found that it 
contained his photograph. I never regretted 
that I held on to that boy. Shortly afterwards 
I left the city, but returned about ten years 
later. One night, after I had been addressing 
several hundred young mechanics at a tech- 
nical school, a strapping fellow stepped for- 
ward with a smile to tell me that he was for- 
merly my scholar in that old Sunday-school 
class. He was the boy who had worried me 
so sorely when I was teaching that group of 
New York youngsters. He was then in a 
good position, exerting a splendid influence 
because of his strong, Christian character. 

Another New York boy comes to my mind 
who was so full of life that somebody got up 
a petition to have him expelled from the 
church and the Sunday-school, which he 
faithfully attended, in spite of his supposed 
viciousness. It had been impossible to drive 
him away by hard looks and harsh words. 
That boy and his "pal" stuck to the re- 
ligious organizations, not especially to engage 
in their services, but because there was a 
preacher there who seemed, somehow, to 
care for a fellow. However, the boys always 
happened to find the creaky bench, when 
there was one, and somehow the gas-pipe in 



92 Boys of the Street 

the outer hall had a peculiar attraction for 
them while the meeting was going on. Soon, 
there was no light in the hall, and a little 
later the people in the church were sitting in 
darkness. Naturally, they were just a little 
vexed. On the evenings that the church was 
closed, and that meant every night except 
Sunday and the prayer-meeting night, the 
boy "hung out" with the gang in a milk 
wagon which stood on the corner across the 
way. I have often thought that it would 
have been a good thing if somebody 
connected with the church had started a 
boys' club for the group that spent the even- 
ing in that milk wagon. It is quite likely 
that there would have been less mischief all 
around — both in the church and outside of it. 

But that petition — only six signatures were 
obtained — be it said to the credit of the folks 
who attended that church, so the boy was 
permitted to remain. The six people who 
signed the petition afterwards came into dis- 
repute, and the boy — well, he became a 
preacher, and some years later he was called 
to become the pastor of the same church, and 
one of the first organizations that he started 
was a boys' club. 

Boys may be trusted to a far greater ex- 



Some General Observations 93 

tent than is generally supposed. Never per- 
mit the impression to go out that the care- 
taker or the manager is a "policeman." A 
boy will usually turn out to be what you ex- 
pect him to be. If you put him on his 
honour he will rarely disappoint you. If you 
make him feel that you think he needs 
watching, make up your mind that you will 
not be able to watch him close enough, for 
he will surely get the best of you. The 
average boy will take excellent care of the 
games that are entrusted to him. The open 
shelves of the public libraries have been a 
revelation of the natural honesty of the 
children. 

If once you can enlist the interest of a 
group of boys, there is no limit to which 
they will not go. I know of half a dozen 
young men who worked all night and until 
seven o'clock the next morning, to prepare 
the hall for an entertainment of the club, and 
then went to work in the shops in which 
they were employed. Needless to say, they 
spent a good share of the next night at the 
entertainment. The wisdom of this may be 
questioned, but it certainly was an evidence 
of the enthusiasm and the love which these 
young fellows had for their club. 



94 Boys of the Street 

There should be constant movement in the 
work of the boys' club. If the enterprise 
lags, the boys will not wait for it. Watch a 
crowd of boys following a fire-engine ! There 
is something definite about it. It suggests 
life, and duty and heroism. You can find 
few things which more readily appeal to the 
average boy. The club is doomed if the 
boys get ahead of it. 

Neither should they be permitted to get 
ahead of the leader. They will sometimes 
attempt it, but after a good square trial in 
which you have shown yourself equal to 
them, they will have the greatest respect and 
admiration for you. 

I heard of a day school teacher who had 
just come to a certain school. The boys in 
the class resolved that they would humiliate 
him. Coming into the room one morning, 
he found written on the blackboard: " Our 
teacher is a donkey." He wasn't quite that, 
and he proved it. Walking to the board, he 
added the word " driver," and then went on 
with the lesson, without mentioning the in- 
cident. That settled the boys. They felt 
decidedly sheepish. They never again at- 
tempted to be smart with that teacher. 

It will pay to respect the boys. If there is 



Some General Observations 95 

anything in the world that a boy hates it is to 
be treated like a little boy. He thinks that 
he is older than he really is. He certainly is 
older than most people think he is. Never 
call him "bub." Did you ever notice the 
look of glad surprise that came into the face 
of a boy whose name you remembered and 
used when you met him only the second 
time ? It is worth while to study the names 
of the boys. 

Do not permit the club-rooms to become a 
mere loafing place, and under no circum- 
stances allow the boys to smoke in or about 
the building. While in the room, every boy 
should be interested in a book, paper or 
game, unless there is some good reason for 
his lack of employment. A boy should not 
be allowed to change a game until he has 
finished playing it. There is a temptation to 
make frequent trips to the game counter, in 
order to try all the games in a single evening. 
This will be done especially by the smaller 
boys. 

Order should be the first law in a boys' 
club, as well as in heaven. Boys really pre- 
fer order. They love "the imperialism of 
good-natured firmness/' If there is disorder, 
it is usually the fault of the manager. The 



96 Boys of the Street 

cause of disorder is that the boys have found 
something more interesting than you have 
given them. 

On a cold or wet night the furnishings of 
a boys' club are incomplete unless there is a 
coffee-kettle, coffee and sugar and milk in a 
cupboard, and a little money with which to 
buy some cookies or doughnuts. The stormy 
evenings are the times you can get nearest 
the boys. 

One of the most vivid memories of my 
boys' club days is connected with the large 
blackboard which was stationed near the 
door, where every boy would see it. That 
blackboard had chalked upon it some helpful 
mottoes which have gone through life with 
many an east side boy. Often there were 
simple rules of conduct " which are observed 
by every gentleman," we were informed. 

I remember that the rules were all positive 
rules — never a " don't," that I can recall, but 
always a positive "be." In that rule of the 
manager there may be found a valuable 
pointer for the boys' club worker. 



LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 




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